Structure and Workings The Early Years History Iona History The Early Years About 400AD St Ninian began the first largescale Christian mission to Scotland from Whithorn converting many ID: 250930
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Slide1
The Church Of Scotland
Structure and WorkingsSlide2
The Early Years
History
IonaSlide3
History The Early Years
About 400AD, St
Ninian
began the first large-scale Christian mission to Scotland from
Whithorn
,
converting many
Pictish
people to the new
faith.
The great heroic figure of the early story is St Columba, the Irish prince-in-exile, who crossed to the island of
Iona
later in the fifth century. Slide4
History The Middle Ages
In the centuries that followed, as Scotland began to find its identity as a nation, and hundreds of years of tension with her English neighbours to the South began, the Church adopted the Roman, not Celtic, practices of work and worship.
The papacy however
allowed Scotland to be independent of England for church purposes.Slide5
History Reformation
The Reformation in Scotland came to its head in the
1560s,
John Knox is famous for head-to-head debates with Mary, Queen of Scots, the Catholic Queen who returned from France and tried to remain loyal to the Roman system. By the end of the 16th century, the Protestant Church of Scotland had developed into a
Presbyterian
Church,
with a
strong tradition of preaching and Scriptural emphasis.Slide6
History Covenanters
The
Church of Scotland
was a key player
since it was reformed in the 16th century. It was not all plain sailing from then on, however, especially after the crowns of Scotland and England were united in 1603. Attempts by Charles I and Charles II to control the
Kirk
met with
protest. Many
years of struggle continued amongst factions with different views. Known as the Covenanters they continued to proclaim their faith, even resorting to holding open-air services.Slide7
History National Church
The succession of William and Mary to the throne in 1688 changed the situation, and the Revolution Settlement of 1690 finally established the reformed,
Presbyterian
Church as the
National
Church of Scotland. Slide8
History Disruption and Reunion
Controversy and division were common in the Church between 1750 and 1850, when there was considerable concern about the Church's relations with the
State.
The largest division was the Disruption of 1843, a major split which saw about one third of the Kirk break away to form what came to be the Free Kirk.Slide9
History Disruption and Reunion
The next 90 years were spent removing the causes of division, and reuniting several
Churches
, all of them
Presbyterian
, so that today the Church of Scotland is the largest Protestant
Church
in the
countrySlide10
History The Church of Scotland Today
The process of reunion gave the Church of Scotland an opportunity to resolve once and for all how it wanted to govern itself and how it wanted to relate to the state.
Today the Church of Scotland lives in the creative tension of serving a nation, offering the ordinances of religion and also providing a prophetic Gospel voice through parish ministry and national engagement of many kinds.Slide11
History Women in The Church
Women were only made eligible for ministerial ordination in 1968, one year after a group of six women made a ground-breaking appeal to the General Assembly for them to be allowed to be fully ordained ministers of word and sacraments. This was only two years after women were permitted to be ordained to the office of the eldership. The first woman elder in the Church of Scotland was ordained on 19 June 1966. Slide12
History The Church of Scotland’sGoverning System.
The Church of Scotland's Governing System is Presbyterian which means that no one person or group within the Church has more influence or say than any other. Slide13
History The Church of Scotland.
Karl Barth, a German theologian, coined the Latin phrase,
Ecclesia
reformata
semper
reformanda
.
It means that the reformed
Church
is always reforming
and changing
, always in a state of flux and today is no different.Slide14
History The Church of Scotland.
The emblem of the Church of Scotland is the burning bush set on the saltire of
St
Andrew.
This relates
to the episode in the book of Exodus where Moses encounters
the
living God
in the desert.Slide15
History The Church of Scotland.
The burning
bush also symbolises the living presence of God within the life of the
Church
. Slide16
History The Church of Scotland.
The
Church’s motto:
Nec
tamen
consumebatur
translates as not however consumed. Slide17
Presbyterian
The Church of Scotland's governing system is Presbyterian which means that no one person or group within the Church has more influence or say than any other. Slide18
History The Church of Scotland.
Presbyterian governance means government by
Presbyteries
as opposed for example to government by
Bishops
in an
Episcopal Church
or by
Congregations in a Congregational Church
.Slide19
Church of Scotland Government is Organised on the Basis of Courts. Slide20
The General Assembly
Is
the superior court of the Church
and is responsible for
Church
policy, organisation and discipline of the Church is made up of mainly of ministers and elders who are commissioned by the Presbyteries on a rota basis. In both the Presbyteries and the General Assembly there should be an approximately equal number of ministers and elders to prevent the clergy from being in a dominating position in the Church.Slide21
The General Assembly
The General Assembly progresses its work through the Councils of the General
Assembly:-Slide22
The General Assembly
The Ministries Council
The Mission and Discipleship Council
The World Mission Council
The Church and Society Council
The Social Care Council
The Council of AssemblySlide23
The General Assembly
These councils
are responsible
for
different areas of the church’s work. Here is a quick summary of the areas of work covered by the Councils of the General AssemblySlide24
The General Assembly
Supporting a variety of ministries for the Church,
from
the first stirring of a 'call' through to
retirement.
Ministries Council :- Slide25
The General Assembly
Promoting an overall focus
for
mission and developing resources for
congregations.
Mission and
Discipleship:- Slide26
The General Assembly
Internationally to share the gospel, support theological education and encourage holistic ministry
World Mission Working
:-Slide27
The General Assembly
Engaging
in the national, political and social issues affecting Scotland and the world today.
Church and Society:-
Slide28
The General Assembly
(
CrossReach
)
Offering services in Christ's name and specialist resources to further the caring work of the Church to people in need.
Social Care Council:- Slide29
The General Assembly
Setting priorities among the councils and committees,
and taking the necessary administrative decisions between General Assemblies
Council of Assembly:- Slide30
The General Assembly
The secretariats of the Councils of the General Assembly along with the legal department and other central functions are based at the Church of Scotland
Headquarters
in 121 George Street, Edinburgh.Slide31
Presbyteries
The middle tier of the government of the Church of Scotland are the Presbyteries of which there are 45.Slide32
Presbyteries
Ardrossan Presbytery is one of three in Ayrshire along with Ayr and Irvine and Kilmarnock.
Most of the presbyteries are in Scotland, but England is one presbytery as is Europe and Jerusalem.Slide33
Presbyteries
The Presbyteries are made up of representatives of Kirk Sessions within the bounds of the Presbytery. As with the General Assembly the aim is to balance the number of ministers and elders.Slide34
Presbyteries
The role of the Presbytery Clerk is to keep the minutes of the meetings, to offer advice on legal matters and to ensure that proper procedures are followed.Slide35
Presbyteries
Has
21 charges within the bounds. Some of these are linked so there are more than 21 congregations in the presbytery.
Ardrossan
Presbytery :-Slide36
Presbytery - Charges
Ardrossan: Park
Ardrossan and Saltcoats
:
Kirkgate
Beith
Brodick
linked with Corrie l/w
Lochranza
and
Pirnmill
l/w
Shiskine
.
Cumbrae
linked with
Largs
: St John’s
Dalry
: St Margaret’s
Dalry
: Trinity
Fairlie
linked
with
Largs
: St
Columba’sSlide37
Presbytery Charges
Kilbirnie
: Auld Kirk Kilbirnie: St Columba’s
Kilmory
linked with
Lamlash
Kilwinning
:
Mansefield Trinity
Kilwinning
: Old
Largs
: Clark
MemorialSlide38
Presbytery Charges
Saltcoats
: NorthSaltcoats
: St Cuthbert’s
Stevenston
:
Ardeer
linked with
Stevenston: Livingstone
Stevenston:High
West Kilbride
Whiting Bay and
KildonanSlide39
Presbytery
Ardrossan Presbytery is responsible for the pastoral oversight of the charges and the supervision and discipline of congregations and ministers within the bounds. Slide40
Presbytery
Like most
Presbyteries Ardrossan Presbytery conducts much of its business through committees which are responsible for particular areas of the work of the Presbytery.Slide41
Presbytery
The Presbytery committees are:
Business Committee
Nominations Committee
Vacancy Procedure Committee
Appraisal Committee
Ministries and Superintendence
Mission Committee
Finance Property and Stewardship
Church and SocietySlide42
The Kirk Session
The Kirk
Session is the
lowest court of the Church
.Slide43
The Kirk Session
The Kirk
Session is moderated,
or
convened
by the minister
of
the congregation.Slide44
The Kirk Session
The minister and elders decide what the priorities of the congregation should be, in accordance with the laws of the church.Slide45
The Kirk Session
Congregations have certain freedom in making decisions but they are subject to the decisions of the Presbytery and of the General Assembly of the Church of ScotlandSlide46
The Kirk Session
Kirk Sessions mainly operate under one of two forms of
Constitution:-
The Unitary Constitution
The Model Congregation. Slide47
The Kirk Session
Means
that the Kirk Session is responsible through its committees for all areas of the work of the local church.
The Unitary Constitution:-Slide48
The Kirk Session
There
is both a Kirk Session and a Congregational
Board within the congregation.
Under the
Model
Constitution:- Slide49
The Kirk Session
The Congregational Board deals with the property and finance of the congregation.
The Kirk Session are responsible for the mission, Christian Education and the worship of the
Church
. Slide50